TOEFL Speaking Task 3

In psychology, the concept of 'learned helplessness' refers to a condition in which an individual believes that they have no control over the outcome of a situation, even when they actually do. This belief often arises after repeated exposure to uncontrollable negative events, leading the person to stop trying to change their circumstances. Learned helplessness can affect motivation, learning, and emotional well-being, and it is often studied in both animals and humans to understand how perceived lack of control impacts behavior.

Professor: Let me give you a classic example from a study with dogs. In one experiment, dogs were placed in a chamber with an electrified floor. Group A could stop the shocks by pressing a panel with their noses. Group B received the same shocks but had no control—the shocks stopped only when Group A pressed the panel. After this training, both groups were placed in a new chamber with a low barrier that they could easily jump over to escape the shocks. Group A quickly learned to jump over the barrier. But Group B—the ones who had experienced uncontrollable shocks—did not even try. They just lay down and whimpered, even though escape was easy. They had learned to be helpless. This shows how prior experience with lack of control can make individuals give up, even when they later have the ability to change their situation.